Maximum towing

[mr61impala]

Hello. It's been awhile since I've been here and I had forgotten how much fun this forum can be. Awhile back we decided to buy another travel trailer and we picked out one that weighed #5700 with a tongue weight of just under #800.

We purchased a new half ton Hemi crew cab with every available towing option including 3.92 gears, Ram rates it to tow #11,400 with a bed capacity of almost #1800.

Since we got this truck we started thinking maybe we could tow a little bigger camper and are wondering what would be a comfortable match to this particular vehicle. If you are towing with a 3.92 Hemi truck I would love to hear your story.

I am not into anything approaching it's maximum values as I don't want to hear the engine screaming up every hill, just wondering if #7000 or even #8000 trailer was a reasonable option. I will say when I'm towing my small tractor and bush hog on a #1550 tandem trailer (total weight of about #4500) you can barely tell it's back there.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[valhalla360]

mr61impala wrote:
Thanks for all the great information! Just went to two trailer websites. The original trailer we bought the truck to pull was listed as #5700 last year, but is now listed as #6000 UVW; the #7000 GVRW, and #730 hitch weight are unchanged. The other trailer is still listed at #6100 with a GVWR of #7700, and a hitch weight of #715. The main difference I see is it has larger tires/wheels, 15" vs 14", and the trailer with larger tires is 3" taller. One can carry #1000 of gear, the other #1600. I like the reserve capacity even though we would never use it. Wouldn't these be very similar in the real world, assuming the same amount of gear loaded into each? Apples and oranges I know.

Did you take the trailers down to the CAT scales and determine the loaded and hitch weight? You keep quoting broucher weights and those are almost always based on an empty trailer (except GVWR) and more often than not, the trailers are actually heavier.

Once you load it up and get to the desirable 12-15%, you will likely be higher. So a 7000lb trailer with a 14% hitch weight is 980lb on the hitch. If you want to be conservative, load the trailer to be a little heavy on the hitch for better pulling. There's a reason 5th wheels tow so great...they are typically at 20-25% on the hitch (not typically practical for a travel trailer).

The tire size has no real impact on weight distribution.

[JIMNLIN]

OP...if you notice those that have the same 1500 Ram 5.7 hemi with 395 hp/410 torque 3.92 gears 10 speed tranny have no problems.
Many folks seem to think all 1/2 ton trucks are the same in pulling performance and load carrying performance when in fact our LDT sized 1/2 ton trucks vary more in GVWR/GAWR than any other 1/2.....3/4.....one ton srw/drw trucks.
Choose the std duty base engine 1/2 ton truck with those small 6xxxk gvwr and tiny 3400-3600 rawr no tow package wrong gears will not get the job done for those size trailers
You have the right tool for the job so hook up and enjoy the ride.

[mr61impala]

richclover wrote:

mr61impala wrote:
Hello. It's been awhile since I've been here and I had forgotten how much fun this forum can be. Awhile back we decided to buy another travel trailer and we picked out one that weighed #5700 with a tongue weight of just under #800.

We purchased a new half ton Hemi crew cab with every available towing option including 3.92 gears, Ram rates it to tow #11,400 with a bed capacity of almost #1800.

Since we got this truck we started thinking maybe we could tow a little bigger camper and are wondering what would be a comfortable match to this particular vehicle. If you are towing with a 3.92 Hemi truck I would love to hear your story.

I am not into anything approaching it's maximum values as I don't want to hear the engine screaming up every hill, just wondering if #7000 or even #8000 trailer was a reasonable option. I will say when I'm towing my small tractor and bush hog on a #1550 tandem trailer (total weight of about #4500) you can barely tell it's back there.

Thanks in advance for your help.

We traded our Coleman bumper pull camper last spring. I hooked it up to our Ram Hemi half ton to haul it to the dealership about 2 miles away. It was unloaded, but still at least 900# on the WD hitch and close to 7000# gross.

No way I would be happy towing that rig with the half ton.

Behind my Ram 2500 Cummins... no worries.

The Hemi does very nicely towing the flatbed, loaded with the CanAm, total weight about 3300#. Well under limits, FWIW.

Have fun and, as always, YMMV!

PS. The only way to know what you are really towing is to load it all up and weigh it. Published numbers are... just that.

Thanks for the input!

Not sure what gearing your Hemi truck has but, FWIW, I traded a 2016 with 3.21 for the 2019 with 3.92. There is absolutely no comparison between how it hauls my farm equipment or Rinker. Where I live in Ky. it's rolling hills and the 3.21 truck was constantly shifting whereas I can haul my tractor and bush hog 88 miles to my lake house and it down shifts once, that's crossing the Ky River bridge. It's like a completely different truck, and both have the 8 speed automatic which came out around 2014? maybe?

Again, thanks for the response.

[stevemorris]

we tow a heavy 26 ft tt with a ram 1500 hemi and have done thousands of miles with it
freeways, backroads, steep hills, done it all
the truck is as solid as a rock, plenty of power of course, handling feels solid
we are close to our max payload(within 10%)

[Desert_Captain]

"You can tow to ratings."

No you can't... Very few if any trucks out there can actually, safely, tow to their so called max towing capacity. The problem is they all run out of payload long before reaching that magical, mystical towing capacity number.

There a lot of nonsense numbers posted above, your actual tongue weight {aka hitch weight} should be at least 13 percent of the actual weight of the fully loaded trailer. Less than that and you are setting yourself up for some serious sway issues. Don't forget to add 100# {+/-} to that hitch weight for the weight of the weight distribution hitch itself.

A trailer that actually weighs 7,000# fully loaded for any given trip should have a tongue weight of 910# + 100 = 1010#. This number comes off of your max payload before you load anyone or anything into the truck. I have seen a number of nicely equipped Ram's with less than 1,000# of payload {4 X 4 and crew cabs are very heavy} yet they carry that mythical towing capacity of 9,000# or more. You cannot have it both ways.

As always... opinions and YMMV

:C

[richclover]

mr61impala wrote:
Hello. It's been awhile since I've been here and I had forgotten how much fun this forum can be. Awhile back we decided to buy another travel trailer and we picked out one that weighed #5700 with a tongue weight of just under #800.

We purchased a new half ton Hemi crew cab with every available towing option including 3.92 gears, Ram rates it to tow #11,400 with a bed capacity of almost #1800.

Since we got this truck we started thinking maybe we could tow a little bigger camper and are wondering what would be a comfortable match to this particular vehicle. If you are towing with a 3.92 Hemi truck I would love to hear your story.

I am not into anything approaching it's maximum values as I don't want to hear the engine screaming up every hill, just wondering if #7000 or even #8000 trailer was a reasonable option. I will say when I'm towing my small tractor and bush hog on a #1550 tandem trailer (total weight of about #4500) you can barely tell it's back there.

Thanks in advance for your help.

We traded our Coleman bumper pull camper last spring. I hooked it up to our Ram Hemi half ton to haul it to the dealership about 2 miles away. It was unloaded, but still at least 900# on the WD hitch and close to 7000# gross.

No way I would be happy towing that rig with the half ton.

Behind my Ram 2500 Cummins... no worries.

The Hemi does very nicely towing the flatbed, loaded with the CanAm, total weight about 3300#. Well under limits, FWIW.

Have fun and, as always, YMMV!

PS. The only way to know what you are really towing is to load it all up and weigh it. Published numbers are... just that.

[mr61impala]

valhalla360 wrote:

mr61impala wrote:

APT wrote:
The general feedback for people towing over 8000 pounds loaded with half tons is not positive. How much is your as equipped payload and receiver rating? 8000 pounds loaded means 1000-1200 pounds of tongue weight. How much stuff/people do you put in the vehicle when towing? That Tire and Loading sticker will likely be your limit well under 11,000 pounds for a TT.

Just the two of us in the truck and we have always packed with weight in mind.

This truck came from the factory with a class 4 hitch which I believe is rated up to #10,000.

The larger trailers under consideration have the following specs:

1). UVW of #7050 and hitch weight of #710,

2), UVW of #6500 and hitch weight of #735.

Once loaded those trailers are likely in the 8000-9000lb range with 1000-1200lb hitch weight. (hence the suggestion to look at GVWR rather than UVW as a first pass)

So if your payload rating is 1800lb, that leaves you 600-800lb after hitching the trailer. You and the misses weight comes off that and then anything bolted onto the truck and any cargo...It can be done but if you want to stay within the payload rating, you need to be really firm about loading things in the truck.

This is why I suggested 7000-7500lb (GVWR). That brings the hitch weight down and gives you some breathing room on truck payload.

The pretty much all come with a class 4 hitch...it's rating rarely is a consideration.

Thanks for all the great information! Just went to two trailer websites. The original trailer we bought the truck to pull was listed as #5700 last year, but is now listed as #6000 UVW; the #7000 GVRW, and #730 hitch weight are unchanged. The other trailer is still listed at #6100 with a GVWR of #7700, and a hitch weight of #715. The main difference I see is it has larger tires/wheels, 15" vs 14", and the trailer with larger tires is 3" taller. One can carry #1000 of gear, the other #1600. I like the reserve capacity even though we would never use it. Wouldn't these be very similar in the real world, assuming the same amount of gear loaded into each? Apples and oranges I know.

[valhalla360]

mr61impala wrote:

APT wrote:
The general feedback for people towing over 8000 pounds loaded with half tons is not positive. How much is your as equipped payload and receiver rating? 8000 pounds loaded means 1000-1200 pounds of tongue weight. How much stuff/people do you put in the vehicle when towing? That Tire and Loading sticker will likely be your limit well under 11,000 pounds for a TT.

Just the two of us in the truck and we have always packed with weight in mind.

This truck came from the factory with a class 4 hitch which I believe is rated up to #10,000.

The larger trailers under consideration have the following specs:

1). UVW of #7050 and hitch weight of #710,

2), UVW of #6500 and hitch weight of #735.

Once loaded those trailers are likely in the 8000-9000lb range with 1000-1200lb hitch weight. (hence the suggestion to look at GVWR rather than UVW as a first pass)

So if your payload rating is 1800lb, that leaves you 600-800lb after hitching the trailer. You and the misses weight comes off that and then anything bolted onto the truck and any cargo...It can be done but if you want to stay within the payload rating, you need to be really firm about loading things in the truck.

This is why I suggested 7000-7500lb (GVWR). That brings the hitch weight down and gives you some breathing room on truck payload.

The pretty much all come with a class 4 hitch...it's rating rarely is a consideration.

[MitchF150]

Please show me your work on that math that I am 3,000 over weight on my combo Terry?

I do include the TW of the trailer on the trucks payload too.... I've been around the block a few times and here longer than you have been... ha, ha... Mitch

[Terryallan]

MitchF150 wrote:
When I shop, I look at the GVWR of the trailer.. Not the UVW, as that's a meaningless number to me... I pack heavy, admit to it and proud of it! 🙂

I went from a #5000 GVW TT to a #7000 GVW last year and with my max tow F150 with the Eco, it's about all I want to tow with it and STILL have a comfortable tow... (My F150 is rated for #11,300)

Here are my door stickers to compare to. I know I'm pretty much maxed out, as I said, I pack heavy and load up the bed and the trailer.




Good luck! Mitch

Looks like if you load both to max. You are over weight by more than 3000lb

[MitchF150]

When I shop, I look at the GVWR of the trailer.. Not the UVW, as that's a meaningless number to me... I pack heavy, admit to it and proud of it! 🙂

I went from a #5000 GVW TT to a #7000 GVW last year and with my max tow F150 with the Eco, it's about all I want to tow with it and STILL have a comfortable tow... (My F150 is rated for #11,300)

Here are my door stickers to compare to. I know I'm pretty much maxed out, as I said, I pack heavy and load up the bed and the trailer.




Good luck! Mitch

[goducks10]

Anything over 6,000 lbs and you'll join the 1/2 ton towing issues crowd.
Rams coil suspension is not a rigid as leafs. If you do go heavy I would invest in some air bags for the rear coils. My son has an older coil sprung Ram 1500 and is loaded to the max and tows a 4,000 lb ski boat. He added bags to the rear and says it really help with stability.
Power wise you're good to 8,000 IMO if you like the sound a V8 wound out in the mountains.
From a BTDT perspective I'd stay at 7,000 lbs or less.

[Lwiddis]

Any buddies with an 8,000 pound trailer that you could try out? Around the block, up and down a hill.

[Grit_dog]

That drivetrain is bulletproof and will rip the hitch off of most any TT. It’ll have similar power to all the new 3/4 ton gassers.
Only downfall IMO is the relatively compliant rear coil spring suspension which can be overcome with an appropriate wdh and/or a set of airbags.
I’ve hooked some heavier trailers to a rental Ram 1500. (I’m in construction, so “weights “ are relative. If it ain’t on the bump stops it’s good enough).
The rear is a little squishy-er than leaf spring “normal” half tons. Not including the heavy payload F150.

I wouldn’t blink an eye at an 8000lb TT.

[mr61impala]

APT wrote:
The general feedback for people towing over 8000 pounds loaded with half tons is not positive. How much is your as equipped payload and receiver rating? 8000 pounds loaded means 1000-1200 pounds of tongue weight. How much stuff/people do you put in the vehicle when towing? That Tire and Loading sticker will likely be your limit well under 11,000 pounds for a TT.

Just the two of us in the truck and we have always packed with weight in mind.

This truck came from the factory with a class 4 hitch which I believe is rated up to #10,000.

The larger trailers under consideration have the following specs:

1). UVW of #7050 and hitch weight of #710,

2), UVW of #6500 and hitch weight of #735.